The present disclosure relates generally to equipment utilized and operations performed in conjunction with a subterranean well and, more particularly, to an improved liner hanger system.
When performing subterranean operations, a wellbore is typically drilled and completed to facilitate removal of desired materials (e.g., hydrocarbons) from a subterranean formation. Often, once a wellbore is drilled, a casing may be inserted into the wellbore. Cement may then be used to install the casing in the wellbore and prevent migration of fluids in the annulus between the casing and the wellbore wall. In certain implementations, the casing may be made of heavy steel.
Once an upper portion of the wellbore has been drilled and cased, it may be desirable to continue drilling and to line a lower portion of the wellbore with a liner lowered through the upper cased portion thereof. Liner hangers are typically used to mechanically support an upper end of the liner from the lower end of a previously installed casing. Additionally, liner hangers may be used to seal the liner to the casing.
Traditional liner hangers utilized slips for mechanically supporting the liner from the casing and packers to seal the different components. Expandable liner hangers (“ELH(s)”) such as VERSAFLEX™, available from Halliburton Energy Services, have been recently developed and provide an improvement over traditional liner hangers. Specifically, ELHs utilize elastomeric rings (e.g., rings made of rubber) carried on a section of expandable tubing to provide both mechanical support and a fluid seal. Accordingly, once an ELH is placed at a desired position downhole within a casing, an expansion cone may be forced through the ELH. The expansion cone expands the elastomeric rings of the ELH, bringing them into contact with the casing to provide both mechanical support and a fluid seal between the casing and a liner.
It is often desirable to use an ELH in a larger size casing (e.g., casing having a diameter of between approximately 5.5″ and approximately 22″) and/or a high pressure high temperature (“HPHT”) environment downhole. However, the properties of elastomeric rings of an ELH are often susceptible to changes in pressure and temperature. Accordingly, the high pressures and high temperatures of HPHT environments can adversely impact the ELH's ability to provide mechanical support and/or seal the liner to the casing. These adverse impacts become even more pronounced in instances when the liner is installed in a large casing.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.